


Magnum Mustache

by ballroompink



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper Parent-Child Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Season/Series 03, References to Magnum P.I. (TV), maybe Hop thinks Joyce could be into the Tom Selleck vibe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 12:18:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20097121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballroompink/pseuds/ballroompink
Summary: “Your face. I can see your face.”“Yeah, I shaved my beard off last night after you went to bed. Like it?”“Not sure. It reminds me of the man on TV …”





	Magnum Mustache

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RabbitRunnah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RabbitRunnah/gifts).

> Thanks RabbitRunnah for indulging me and this idea.

Eleven woke up to the smell of coffee, bacon and her beloved Eggos. Hopper’s back was to her finishing up the bacon and she sat down at the table.

He walked up to her and she was in shock.

“Your face. I can see your face.”

“Yeah, I shaved my beard off last night after you went to bed. Like it?”

“Not sure. It reminds me of the man on TV …”

“Thanks, kid. Ready for a day out?”

“Yes!” 

It was one of the first pleasant days of 1985 – March 8 to be exact – when Hopper decided that El deserved a day out of the cabin. She had been out a handful of times since the Snow Ball – mostly at Joyce’s and a few times at the Wheelers’ under the supervision of Jonathan and Nancy. 

Hopper said they would go out of town to buy some more clothes for her, but, first, they would stop by Melvald’s (for reasons he didn’t go into). El had been to Melvald’s just once before and while it wasn’t the most exciting place in Hawkins, it did have one of her favorite people – Joyce. 

While she knew Hopper cared for her, he masked his soft side with a hard exterior and gruff behavior, somehow Joyce was the opposite because underneath her soft and tender exterior Joyce was like the Terminator. She always got tender affection from Joyce. Joyce always had a hug for her, many hugs actually, and always called Eleven “my girl,” just like she called Jonathan and Will “her boys.” And, Joyce was the person Hop and El trusted most in this world.

Downtown Hawkins on a Friday morning was a ghost town, almost. As Hopper parked the Blazer, El asked if she could go into the store unaccompanied for a few minutes to talk to Joyce without him. 

“Sure, I can wait here for a bit.”

El got out and went straight in. The store was empty aside from Joyce who welcomed her with a big hug. 

“There’s my girl. How’s your day going?”

“Great. Hop’s taking me to Kokomo to shop for some clothes.” El pointed to her faded jeans that were getting to be too short on her. 

“Well, if you need anything hemmed, let me know, OK?”

“Thank you, Joyce. … Hey, Joyce, do you know the show ‘Magnum, P.I.?” The two leaned conspiratorially over the counter.

“I do. Do you and Hop watch it?”

“Yeah, I like it enough, but Hop likes it a lot.”

Amused by this conversation starter, Joyce ventured a “Yeah?”

“Yeah. In fact, Hop shaved his beard last night.”

“Oh? A lot of men shave their beards off when the weather gets warmer.” Joyce frowned a little, not enough to have El notice, as she always liked Hopper’s beard.

“Oh? But he did it after we watched the show. He kept the mustache, like Magnum.”

Not sure how to react to this, to laugh at El’s teenage panic over her father’s grooming habits or frown over the loss of his handsome beard, Joyce covers her mouth and nods along to rest of El’s animated talk and teenage eyerolls. 

A few minutes pass and Hopper cautiously opens the door. “Hello, ladies. Apologies for interrupting girl talk, but we should probably get going. Hey, Joyce, big day of shopping ahead of us. How’s it going?” Hopper laid on the charm real thick.

“Can I get some gum before we go?”

“Sure, kid.”

El ran to the candy aisle leaving Joyce and Hopper alone for a minute. They each tried to avoid the matter of his clean, close shave; well, she could tell he was trying to draw attention to the lack of beard by rubbing his face with a twinkle in his eyes, begging for a comment and she – still uncertain about it and perhaps her feelings about him – wasn’t going to give him any reaction. Nope. Not a single one. 

The awkward silence was broken by El coming back with a pack of Juicy Fruit and handing Joyce a quarter.

“Why don’t you two come over for pizza when you’re finished shopping. El, you can show me what you bought.”

El looked at Hopper hopefully, because the possibility of Mike being there was high. 

Hopper smiled at the two ladies and said, “OK. How about 6 ish? We have to get back home before 10 – ‘Miami Vice’ is on tonight.” Hopper stands above El and mouths “This one’s favorite show.”

“Sounds good."


End file.
